30 Day Challenge: 5 current goals

Okay, let's get the obvious one out of the way first:

1. To get a book published

Of course I'd prefer it to happen rather sooner than later. But I also try to be down to earth about it. It's more important that I write what's important to me, and spend as much time writing and editing it as I feel I need. I don't want to rush because I might just be at my biggest growth spurt as a writer right now. There's a dramatic difference in skill with the beginning and ending of the last novel I completed. It's like they were written by a different person, or at least years apart, not months. I know my stuff isn't ready yet, but I'm getting so much better all the time, so I hope that soon something is ready, that I am ready.

At the moment I'm writing for a contemporary YA novel competition (not my usual thing) and I only have three months to complete the novel that is still in the beginning, since my summer job has kept me so busy, so I guess that's a goal in itself, but let it be inside this bigger goal, since its just one way I'm trying to achieve this.

After that, I have my fantasy series to complete, which is still probably going to take me more than a couple of years, since it was only half way through and then I started writing the first book all the way from the beginning again...

2. To improve my drawing/Strenghten my style

I've only recently realized how much I've been trying to draw ”by the book” all these years. How much I've been trying to do the same as those who are actually good at it. But it has struck me: Why would I try to draw like people who don't draw for the same reasons or aren't about expressing the same things I want to express? I'm bad with anatomy. So what? I don't even want to draw realistically, so that shouldn't be my main concern. I'm good with faces, expressions, colours and contrast. And those are enough to express what I actually want to: feelings and atmosphere. It doesn't mean I don't need to get better at anatomy. It just means I should approach it in favour of the things that are more important to me, on their terms, to strengthen them.

I don't want to draw a mountain so that you can see in detail exactly what this particular mountain looks like. I want to draw so that I can make you believe there is a mountain there, and that it's there for a reason.

Not so good, no.

That's going in the right direction.

3. To improve my flexibility

This is probably my weakest area in ballet. Well, not in every single place, it seems my sides are more flexible than average and my attitudes and arabesques aren't half bad, so I guess my back isn't that stiff either. But I can't do a spagat, and I've never been able to lift my leg all the way up along my side with my hand on my heel. I guess I haven't really had to worry about it enough before, in class it's been enough to just do everything to the extend you can. But in our last performance we did can-can and we were supposed to end it in a spagat. There was only one other person besides me, who had to cheat, hiding the other leg under the big can-can skirt, since we couldn't get it straight.

This was the can-can skirt.

So, I'm trying to make it a habit to stretch my legs everytime I'm reading or watching something. So far, it's really hard. I might have to ask for someone's advice... so far I've only heard ”Just stretch untill it stops hurting” but the problems is, it doesn't. It just gets more painful. Either I'm doing something wrong, or the problem is that I've only been asking people who are naturally flexible.

My heels are my true achilles' heels, as well. (Heh heh, not so funny... I'm sorry, I couldn't help that.) They're just naturally stiffer than those of most non-dancers I know. Yeah... sad. I'm always worried that someday, they'll just snap. I'm trying to do something about them as well, since it makes me cheat in pirouettes, which is a shame, since otherwise, those are basically my only strong suit.

4. To finally start typing fictional characters on my personality blog

I type all the time. If I haven't typed someone I've read/watched it's because a) They're really hard for me to type and it's an on-going process or b) they aren't realistic enough to type which probably also means they weren't very interesting as a character.

But for some reason when it comes to actually writing about those typings, I keep putting it off. I guess I want to be exactly 112% sure of their MBTI, enneagram tritype, wing, and instinctual variants before writing anything.

But I want to do this because 1) It's just so interesting, plain and simple. 2) It's a good field for discussion, since when you're talking about real people, you can only really do it with someone who knows the person as well as you. Fictional characters can have so wide audiences. Sure, you can discuss celebrities too, but 3) you can get the thought processes of a character from the fictional work way easier than you can get real people's thought processes, and that's why, when it comes to the theory, I find fictional characters a better learning tool than real people. (Of course, I always recommend watching real people for practical learning, but the theory is just as important and the fictional characters are ideal for that.)

5. Finish my degree work

Yeah, the most boring goal. Okay, it's not like I'm not interested in my subject, of course I chose something that overlaps with literature, so I have an excuse to read more fiction: The images of God in self-published Christian fiction. That's my subject. I've read my material and I know approximately what's going to be in every chapter, and I think I've found some interesting spectrums and dichotomies in the way the concept of God is formed and used in these stories.

But you know, writing fiction and blogging about personality theories is just so much more interesting than actually doing the work: the academic writing. (Sorry I'm going to go Jungian here:) It's. So. Extraverted Thinking. It's always the same thing for me as an Ni-Ti looper: I don't actually do the work the way I have to present it. The Te part of the work is the last part I do. I fake it every single time, I've done that since middle school porfolios, since you're expected to reach your conclusion in a certain step by step manner. But I can't do that. I get to the conclusions first, I come to them in a complicated web of relationships of cause and effect, and then I have to go back and figure out how exactly I would've have gotten there, if I was using Te. And it's tedious.

But, my goal is to be done by Christmas. Unlike fiction, I write school papers the best in the morning, when I've specifically woken up to do them. So I'll have to welcome early mornings once summer's done.

This is the book that made me want to research Christian fiction. Check it out!

So, that's my five. Hope I didn't forget something important. I'm tired.

MBTI Stereotypes

Because they deserve every face-palm they get.

I haven't yet made a post about the MBTI personality theory which I'm obsessed with. I figured I'd start with putting the general stereotypes in a nutshell because they're still out there and no good. Other people have probably done it better before and I'm still no typology expert, just your common enthusiast, but I feel like putting down the images people seem to have going around, and which I find ridiculous, unfair, harmful and totally biased. Not helpful to anyone who is really trying to understand the system and use it to understand other people better, not bash them.

If you're unfamiliar with MBTI, and interested, go visit Personality Café or something: http://personalitycafe.com/forum/

It doesn't really make sense for me to try to explain the basics in this blog.

Sometimes the stereotypes seem to have a seed of truth in them, by which I mean they are overly simplified and exaggerated descriptions based on general tendencies associated with certain cognitive functions and combinations. Others, however, don't even seem to be based on reality but misunderstanding the functions and dichotomies entirely.

It seems these stereotypes often come to life because some people internalize one-dimensional type descriptions/dichotomies, look for people who resemble that description, form some kind of an archetype about them and settle with typing people according to superficial understanding of their external behaviour, not taking underlying processes into account.

In the most unfortunate cases, people already have a bias against certain kind of people and because of it, start matching all of them with one/few personality types and then begin to see the whole type in a negative light. And of course, some people only seem able to type people with no views or traits opposing to their own to the same personality type with them.

In typology forums this shows in threads with a (sometimes direct, sometimes indirect) message like: ”Why are all ISFPs emotionally biased about everything?” or ”Don't trust an ESFJ” or ”ENTPs are useless trolls” and crap like that.

It's like some people really consider stuff like this relevant:

Feelers are emotionally biased crybabies and incapable of coherent thought.

Thinkers are cold sosiopaths and incapable of love and empathy.

Sensors are dumb and incapable of independent thought.

Intuitives are clumsy and incapable of doing physical tasks well.

Rather than rambling more about how untrue those stereotypes are, I'll get to the type-specific ones. If you're purposely creating one-dimensional comedy characters or something, then you might have some actual use for these but in typing real people they are seriously useless. But the more people are aware of them, the better. If you don't personally need to be reminded of this, maybe you can still find what I've gathered kind of hilarious. :D Or enraging...

I'll have my fictional characters starring as their types. Because fun.

ENFJ

All ENFJs are manipulative, backstabing goody-two-shoes who wrap everyone around their little finger, never say what they mean or act authentically. In conflict situations they always side with the majority. They want power but not the responsibility.

INFJ

All INFJs are crazy conspiracy theorists and prone to mental illnesses. They're detached from reality and live in a dark world inside their heads. They're ineffective in any sensory environment and mess up everything they touch.

ESTP

All ESTPs are reckless thrill-seekers who never think about the consequenses of their actions. Their life is all about dumb stunts, sex and motorcycles. Anything abstract or ethical receives no response from their brain.

ISTP

All ISTPs are like ESTPs but antisocial, so they prefer playing video games, building useless objects and breaking things apart just to be able to put them back together. They never use whatever abilities they may have for any useful purpose.

ESFJ

All ESFJs are dumb blond barbies who blindly follow whatever rules and morals they have grown up with. They want to please people only so that everyone would love them, and the moment you turn your back on them they're already bad-mouthing you.

ISFJ

All ISFJs are spineless door-mats whose life revolves around one person (their lover, usually). They have no morals, personality, or passions of their own, they need someone else to complete them. If their love isn't reciprocated 24/7, they become obsessive stalkers.

ENTP

All ENTPs do nothing but troll all over the internet 24/7. They talk inexplicable amounts of nonsense, and get nothing done. They're opportunistic freeloaders who can go to ridiculous lengths to escape all and any kind of responsibility.

INTP

All INTPs do nothing but sit alone in their room coming up with useless theories, wondering about trivial things, fancying themselves as the most intelligent personality type and comparing themselves to Einstein, while never coming up with anything anyone could really use. Have troubles remembering to take their weekly shower.

ESFP

All ESFPs are foolish party animals who live only for having fun. They have no abilities, no sense of responsibility and no direction in life. They are entirely useless, except maybe as a clown if they get lucky.

ISFP

All ISFPs are either hippies who smoke weed with ENFPs, or artists suffering from frequent emotional breakdowns, which they actually enjoy. Incapable of surviving among ”normal” people.

ENTJ

All ENTJs are narcissistic, abusive chiefs of some sort who wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they couldn't order people around as they please and take their anger out on their subordinates.

INTJ

All INTJs are sosiopaths or narsissists who care about nothing expect themselves and their One True field of science. They think they're perfect, and that every brain fart they let out is an objective fact. They think everyone wants to be them.

ENFP

All ENFPs use drugs, prefer one-night-stands to relationships and wish to live their life running around naked on a field while chewing flowers. They're incapable of keeping a job. Sometimes they might get serious but OH HEY A BUTTERFLY.

INFP

All INFPs want to be INFJs and a half of them pretend to be. They're the weakest and most emotionally biased personality type, they're all emos who do nothing but watch gore anime. They never leave their room but manage to fancy themselves as world saviors/figthers of justice.

ESTJ

All ESTJs are meatheads who gain a sense of power by ordering people around according to someone else's (ENTJ's) orders. They fancy themselves as the alpha male (all ESTJs are male of course) and their self worth competely shatters and they turn berserk, if this fact is questioned.

ISTJ

All ISTJs are complete robots. They're the people ESTJs order around. They're blind to everything except following the majority. If someone else didn't give them instructions and orders they would just rot and die.

…Gee, I wonder why some people think MBTI is about as useful as horoscopes?

Imagine if your average people where really like this. What a world it would be.

Hello fellow humans...

 (or whatever you consider yourself as)!

This is obviously the first post of this blog so I won't bore you by going out of my way to express that fact in some cheesy pseudo-artistic excuse of meaningful phrasing. (Whoops I guess I did.) I would very much like to say something profound and inspiring and introduce a theme or a concept for this blog that would awaken your interests and make you wait for the next post on the edge of your toes like a ballerina but (a) my previous blogs have fallen down exactly because I always try to set up too limiting theme (such as book reviews) and I always find myself wanting to write about other things but don't want to make separate blogs for them so this time my theme is no theme! Ehe... or my theme is whatever happens to interest me. (In the end my interests don't even vary that much so I think I'm good here). And (b) I've been wanting to give a blog a new chance for a long time but I've been so busy with school and other stuff that I've kept putting it off and off...

But then I just couldn't take it anymore.

I don't have that much time (or even a scanner so excuse the comic!) which is why I'm not thinking this post through that carefully. Most of my posts probably won't be this erratic but this time I'm counting this as therapy between exam books because if I don't take a good break now I'm pretty sure I won't remember anything I read the rest of the day.

Oh, and if you know me you might be wondering why I'm writing this blog in English. Well, that's partially because I just like English and most of my creative writing is in Finnish for practical reasons. But online it's actually more practical to write in English because it's way more inclusive. There's so many English speaking people out there who have similar interests with me, so rambling here is at least one attempt to have conversation with more people. (Also, I'm lazy enough to post most stuff in Facebook in Finnish so this is also a way for my English speaking friends to know what's going on with me if that happens to be something they're interested in.) Of course, if you want to leave a comment or e-mail me, you can do it in either language!

Which brings me to what you can expect me to talk about in my posts. Like I said, I'm not narrowing down my topics but I think I should still give you a list of my obsessions(=interests), so... if you have similar ones we can talk about them and if you don't... you've been warned. :D

SO, this is my... TOP Something. Let's see what and how many of them it turns out to be.

1. My number one interest(=obsession, life purpose...) is writing. Fiction. Novels. I do other stuff, sometimes I write poems or lyrics or short stories and my diary consists mainly of rantings, ravings and musings about... stuff I'm probably going to talk about in this blog as well (but hopefully in more coherent manner). But what I most want to do for living is to be an author (which sadly often makes people snort) and I'm well aware of how unlikely it is to make your living on this field (which is partially why I'm studying to also have a more ”down to earth” profession). As it is, I don't have time to write everyday (because if I start it's very likely the next time I eat or sleep or go to the bath room will be after about 48 hours. Writing is very much about the flow.) but I think about it everyday. It's impossible to get through a class or an exam book without being interrupted (a lot) by a dialogue between my characters or a stricking revelation about where the events in my story are going to lead. 

My writing is first and foremostly character oriented. I know my characters to the core like they were real human beings. I don't plot. I never set out to tell a story in which I want to include specific events for the sake of those events. And I don't sit around wondering which direction I should lead my characters to. The story is inevitable once the charactes are in my head, they are what they are so they make the desicions they make and it often feels like I'm just waching a good show.

 

That doesn't mean I take writing lightly, though. It may feel like that when I'm writing the first draft but then comes re-writing and editing which is all work. There's always stuff to describe more and stuff to describe less. There's always a better way to phrase something. It's always possible to make the world-building more precise and better structured. Sometimes drawing the line between too little and too much is indescribably hard.

Fantasy is my preferred genre. There's also, more likely than not, elements of adventure and mystery but in the center of things, there's always the characters and their intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships.

So, yes, you will see me talking about writing a lot, not neccesssarily that much about the stuff I'm actually writing at the moment but maybe about... more general writing related issues. Things other writers may relate to. Or something somewhere around that kind of stuff.

2. Naturally, here comes reading. Books are the media I consume the most. I read about two books a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. My preferences are the same as in writing and I also often like historical or philosophy oriented fiction but I try my best to read outside my comfort zone (which sometimes leads to ranting about a very badly written chick-lit, YA romance, or thriller) because anything can be great as long as the characters are well-written and it's obviously very important for a writer to read books that can broaden perspective, something completely alien at times too. You can learn from anything. (From other writers' mistakes as well.)

I don't read too much non-fiction outside of school, because really, there's enough of it and my interests are pretty much covered by the classes I take (theology, philosophy, psychology). Theology is my major, so when I read non-fiction for fun, it's usually something else.

I won't go into too much detail about my favourite books here (because that's a field where I have A LOT to talk about) but I'll give you a very general view:

• Well, Harry freaking Potter
• All Sherlock Holmes stories by sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heros of Olympus by Rick Riordan
• Pride and Prejudice (or anything) by Jane Austen

• The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• The Passage by Justin Cronin
• The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
• The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• Demian by Herman Hesse
• All Anne and Emily books by L.M. Montgomery
• Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
  
  

Here's a random Saber (Fate/Stay Night) skecth for you.

Manga is also quite a big part of my reading. I don't like to read that many on-going series but every now and then I feel like marathoning a completed one, so I feel like making a separate list for some of my favourite mangas as well:

• Inuyasha & Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi
• Emma by Kaoru Mori
• Helen ESP by Katsuhisa Kigitsu
• Yotsuba&! & Azumanga Daioh by Kiyohiko Azuma
• Full Moon wo sagashite & Time Stranger Kyoko by Arina Tanemura
• Card Captor Sakura & Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP
• Fate/Stay Night by Datto Nishiwaki & TYPE-MOON
• Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
• Warau Kanoko-sama & Koi dano ai dano by Ririko Tsujita
• Meitantei Conan by Gosho Aoyama

Other favourite comics/graphic novels:

• Habibi by Graig Thompson
• Yoko Tsuno by Roger Leloup
• Tintin by Herge
• The Bright Side by Amber Francis (webcomic)
• Shades of A by T A Kimpton (webcomic)
• Kirjoitukset by Marja Siira (webcomic, in Finnish)

I tried to keep it short. If you feel like sharing your opinion on some of them, go ahead! 

3. Drawing, too, goes hand in hand with writing. I illustrate my stories a lot and draw random memes about my characters for my own amusement. (So random they're hardly gonna see any daylight ever.) Comics have been my passion for quite a while. I already drew them before I could read or write, around when I was four years old. They usually involved a picture form of a story I had acted out with my favourite dolls/figurines or something similar. My longest comic so far is actually an exchange/impro story I drew with a friend of mine when we were 11-16 years old and it reached 500+ pages before we both began to have too many other things in mind.

Most of my fiction comics are relatively short, around 20-40 pages. Most of them I drew in middle school. I was able to get one published in an amateur magazine (called Finnmanga) when I was 13 but reading it now... well, I just hope anyone who happens to come across it, realizes that I was immature and 13. I've come a long way since. (Not that I have published much else though.) Since I graduated high school I've been drawing comics significantly less because I've been focusing on writing so much but I haven't given up the dream of publishing a graphic novel someday as well.

I still draw (and paint) whenever I have time and it's usually writing related but not neccessarily for any other purpose than for myself. Sometimes I make short (like one or two page) humor comics about my life or some topic I find relevant. You can expect to see more comic diary type of narrative in this blog in the future! I'll probably share some of my old comics around here too.

4. I'm pretty much a total MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) geek. It's a personality theory based on the work of Isabel Myers, Katherine Briggs and Carl Jung. Those who know a little about the theory are probably rolling their eyes about now, since MBTI is often called the modern horoscope and if you have any experience about the online tests, you've probably noticed they have pretty much no reliability whatsoever. Yes, the tests should not be used as any sort of life quide and the type descriptions that relate to those tests are almost equally poor. However, the actual theory the tests, and the four letter dichotomies, are based on, is facinating, and much, much deeper than it seems if you think about the letters too much.

Basically the test sorts people into 16 personality types based on whether they're more Introverted-Extroverted, Sensing-iNtuitive, Thinking-Feeling and Percieving-Judging, giving a result such as INFP, ENTJ, ISFP and so on, with a description of the personality type. Of course a system like this is going to lead to nothing but useless, or even harmful stereotypes (in case it's taken too seriously) if people don't study the theory themselves, the cognitive functions, which the letter dichotomies are based on.

Soo, I'm not trying to sound like I know everything about this subject, I'm obviously learning myself, but I think I've come to know something about how to NOT type and trying to become better at typing according to the cognitive functions (Introverted and extraverted intuition, sensing, feeling and thinking). The personality theory is not really about whether someone is introverted or extraverted, feeling or thinking and so on. Everyone is all of that. The question is what kind of thinking or feeling or sensing or intuition is your preference and in what order do they manifest.

I'll most likely go deeper into my thoughts about the theory in some posts in the future. I also really enjoy typing fictional characters (Why? Because why not!) so that's something you can expect to see me doing here. And of course, you're welcome to argue (or agree) with me if you like! (I might also touch a little on the alternative theory of Socionics (which is based on the same functions) and Enneagram which I've found to add depth to the function theory.)

5. Okay, I think I've covered the things I'll probably be talking about the most, so I'll just give you a short description about other things that I probably won't talk about that often but very possibly on occasion:

• Movies and TV series. I may not be very up-to-date about them because I don't own a TV (and don't watch it that much when I'm home at my parents' either). I keep up with my favourite series online and often re-watch old favourites. I usually go to movies when there's an adaptation about a book I've read but I don't think I'm that enthusiatic about them. I probably like movies as much as the next person. About my favourites I'll just say I wouldn't say no to an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time, Gilmore Girls, Los Serrano or to most Disney and Ghibli movies.
  
  
• Theology (Don't worry, I'm not gonna preach!) or religions in general might sometimes inspire something. Probably not that much because I have to deal with them everyday whether I'm inspired or not and write all my thoughts out on long esseys... but who knows, every now and then I come accross some pretty interesting thinkers...

• Asexuality (and other related things) because, well, I still come across people who've never heard of it or who it would've helped if they knew more about it earlier (and it's something I also identify with). There's a lot of misconception and ignorance which is not only harmful to asexuals but affect people of other orientations as well. If this happens to be the first time you've come across this term or just want to know more about it I recommed you to visit this site: http://www.asexuality.org/home/ (Of course, I'm happy to answer (respectful) questions myself.)

• Other more random personality/human related stuff. I just think and talk about and observe people a lot (no, really, someone who writes character oriented fiction?) so... stuff comes to mind. Sometimes I might rant a little but it's out of love.

• And, it's not really a topic at all but I also like photographing (though I'm not at all serious about it) so you will definitely see more random photos like and unlike the ones you've seen in this post, decorating corners around here. I'm actually quite bad at remembering to take photos of actual life events so most of my photography is very... intentional/staged or just pure cosplay. I don't have Photoshop (yet) but I like playing with Picasa, so more pseudo-artistic stuff ahead. 

Hmm... Okay, I think that's about it for now. This post turned out a little longer than I intented so... Thank you very much for reading this far. I hope you found something awesome we have in common or otherwise gets your sympathies.

Have a great night, or day, or whatever and I hope to see you around here again!